NYC's Controversial Proposals: Sick Leave for Pets and an Elephant Ban
What a bunch of silly billies!Progressive Caucus City Council members are backing a dozen out-of-left-field bills, ranging from the potentially dangerous to the downright wacky, a Post analysis found.Some of those bills push for standard-issue progressive pipe dreams, such as abolishing the NYPD’s gang database or setting a $30 minimum wage.But others count as Grade A wack-a-doodle doozies — from banning elephants to letting pet owners take sick leave if their dogs are ill — by The Post’s reckoning.Sick dog? A bill would allow New Yorkers to take sick time to take care of pets. Getty Images“They want the world to know this is what they believe in and this is what they fight for,” said Zilvinas Silenas, president of the Empire Center, an independent think tank.“They’re putting up a flag to say, ‘Hey, I’m the council member who’s all in on organic eggs” or, ‘I’m the council member who really cares about elephants in New York.'”Democrats hold a supermajority on the Council, with a significant bloc of progressives – but the bills would need to first advance beyond various committees before they go up for a vote by the full lawmaking body.Here’s what lefty Council members want New Yorkers to know where they stand.Sick leave for petsFido having a ruff day? New Yorkers won’t have to choose between going to work or taking care of a sick pet if a bill sponsored by Councilman Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan) is passed.City law currently doesn’t allow workers to use accrued sick time to care for a sick pet or service animal — a situation that forces uncertainty if they need to take time off for veterinary care.“This bill would clarify that caring for a sick animal is a legitimate use of already earned sick leave and does not create any additional leave entitlement,” a memo in support of the bill states.The bill would tweak the city’s sick leave law, allowing workers to take time to care for some — but not all — types of animals.Animals “kept primarily for companionship” — as in, pets and service animals — would fall under the tweaked law.Farm animals like barn cows, however, would have to moooove aside.Abreu isn’t part of the Progressive Caucus, but the bill has backing of lefties such as Councilwoman Tiffany L. Cabán (D-Queens). He told The Post the legislation doesn’t expand the number of sick days available, it only gives workers more freedom in how they use them.Free-range eggs onlyWhat does this bill have to do with the price of eggs?Nothing, but it has a lot to say about what type of eggs New York City municipal agencies can buy.A bill by Councilman Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan) would prohibit city government from buying eggs that aren’t organic or free-range. Progressive Caucus City Council members are backing nearly 30 out-of-left-field bills, a Post analysis found. James Keivom for NY Post“We want to make sure that the city is providing good, nutrient-dense, safe food to the people it’s serving,” Epstein said. “Organic eggs are better for human health, with three times more unsaturated fats, 40% more vitamin A, and twice as much vitamin E compared to the USDA standard, and free-range eggs are also thought to contain superior nutrition. Following the lead of states like Florida, Ohio, and Kentucky, New York City should implement guardrails to keep people safe and healthy.”The memo succinctly argues that eggs from caged hens are the products of cruelty, noting the hapless birds are confined to spaces smaller than a single sheet of letter-sized paper.Self-service checkoutsNo less than one employee for every three self-service checkouts, please!Councilwoman Amanda Farías (D-Bronx) is pushing a bill to fine pharmacies and food retail stores up to $1,000 per employee every day that self-checkouts are not properly staffed.The proper staff ratio, as defined by the bill, is one workers per every three self-checkout machine. And it also requires that stores impose a 15-item maximum for the machines.Both moves would help combat retail theft, a scourge that drives up the cost of food and essential goods, a memo supporting Farías’ bill states.“Reinvesting in staffing is good for revenue, for jobs, and for consumer confidence,” the memo argues. “We must fix the system, rather than continuing to pass the cost of preventable losses onto New Yorkers who are already struggling with the affordability crisis.”Farias added, “Retail theft has been a challenge for our city since the pandemic, and we have been working to address it from every angle. This legislation is another piece of that work.”Elephant careRIP, Happy the (allegedly unhappy) Elephant.The long life of Happy in the Bronx Zoo lumbers in the background of a bill by Councilwoman Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn) that prohibits keeping elephants in the city, unless strict conditions are met.A new bill would ban keeping elephants in the city, unless strict conditions are met. Brigitte StelzerElephants kept in the city must have at least 15 acres of usable habitat where they can forage for food or water, the bill stipulates. Female pachyderms must also be kept in groups and allowed to form herds, and likewise for males.The requirements also emphatically state: “The elephant must not be mounted, ridden, or forced to do labor.”‘Hostile architecture’Does that bench look … hostile?So-called “hostile architecture” designed to keep homeless people from resting or sleeping — such as spiked platforms or many-railed benches — across the city would be targeted in a bill by Councilman Christopher Marte (D-Manhattan).“In 2017, 2021, and 2025, the MTA removed numerous benches from train platforms and replaced them with metal leaning bars; again, targeting the homeless population,” the bill’s memo states.A bill would ban the NYPD’s gang database. Paul Martinka“Hostile architecture, however, affects everyone, not just the intended target. In the case of the MTA’s leaning bars, multiple riders have expressed concern about the issue of accessibility.”The bill, however, would take no action other than require the city’s planning department to conduct a study within 18 months of it becoming law.A team for treesTimber!The city — which already has a robust Parks Department — would have to create a “task force” to coordinate the removal of fallen trees after severe weather under one bill.Lighten the loadDelivery workers won’t have to make a single trip if their goods weigh more than 22 pounds under a bill pushed by Councilman Christopher Marte (D-Manhattan).The bill would also prohibit the companies from requiring drivers wear backpacks.“There is a study out of Berlin that said 22 pounds of weight on someone’s back can be the deciding factor on whether they live or die if they crash on a bicycle, and right now there’s no weight limit,” Marte said. “A weight limit will make it much safer for workers.”BYOCBring your own cup.A bill by Abreu would require restaurants, coffee shops and other eateries to allow customers to bring and use their own reusable cups for beverage orders.Abolishing NYPD gang databasePolice Commissioner Jessica Tisch argues that the gang database and special NYPD unit are vital public safety tools. Paul Martinka for NY PostA dumbfounding 25 City Council members are sponsoring a bill to abolish the NYPD’s gang database.Lefties generally consider the database racist, but police officials — not least NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch — argue it’s a vital crime-fighting tool, with thousands of entries and intel including distinctive tattoos linked to criminal groups and gangs.A spokesperson for bill sponsor Councilwoman Althea Stevens (D-Bronx) said the lawmaker has seen firsthand how the list unfairly targets black and brown people. The list doesn’t have checks to make sure people on it have criminal histories, the spokesperson argued.Handcuffing the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group Another 26 Council members have signed onto a bill to prohibit the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group from deploying during First Amendment-protected protests.SRG has long been a progressive bugbear, with opponents — including Mayor Zohran Mamdani — contending the unit regularly brutalizes protesters and tramples their rights. The specialized unit responds to civil disorder and major events, including parades and protests. It’s also deployed for major crime events, such as bank robberies, shootings and missing persons.Police officials such as Tisch argue the unit plays a vital part in keeping protests from descending into violence.Setting a $30 minimum wageLefty Council members want to set the Big Apple’s minimum wage at a very max $30 an hour.The bill introduced by Councilwoman Sandy Nurse (D-Brooklyn) would nearly double the city’s current baseline pay of $17 and affect as many as 1 million workers.Progressives have long called for a minimum wage to keep up with the city’s high cost of living, but business leaders warn it’ll be a costly disaster for employers.Gender-affirming items for jail inmatesTransgender inmates in city jails will be able to request “gender-affirming items” under one proposed bill.“These items include, but are not limited to, wigs, hair extensions, chest binders, tucking undergarments or gaffs, and prosthetics,” a memo in support of the bill states.Union officials have slammed the proposal, sponsored by lefty Brooklyn Councilwoman Crystal Hudson, as potentially dangerous for corrections officers.
